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JUNE 18 , 2001 MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT Eggerts Crossing Road, Lawrence Township
On Monday, June 18, 2001, firefighters from Lawrence Road Fire Co. assisted at the scene of a serious collision between a bicycle and a sport utility vehicle. The accident occurred about 7:15 p.m. on Eggerts Crossing Road in front of the New Jersey Army National Guard 112th Field Artillery Armory. According to police, the bicyclist, Theodore Chao, 26, of Plainsboro, was riding at the front of a group of bicyclists from Knapp’s Cyclery who were heading east toward Lawrence Road. The sport utility vehicle, driven by Raheem Ernest Holloway, 24, of Lawrence, was heading west toward Ewing Township. The sport utility vehicle made a left turn into the parking lot of the armory, and crossed the path of the bicyclist, according to police. Chao’s bicycle struck the rear passenger’s side of Holloway’s vehicle and Chao was thrown forward, police said. His head smashed through the rear passenger’s side window and, although he was wearing a helmet, his neck was severely cut by the window’s broken glass, according to police. A Lawrence First Aid Squad ambulance crew and Capital Health System paramedics treated Chao on scene and rushed him Capital Health System at Fuld hospital. He underwent immediate surgery and was admitted in extremely critical condition. (At last update, his condition had significantly improved.) Immediately after Chao was removed, Lawrence police and investigators from the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office began their investigation. At 8:06 p.m., Lawrence Road volunteers were requested to send an engine to the scene to wash away the large amount of blood that had been spilled on the road. Engine 22-1 responded to the scene with a crew of Capt. Gary Wasko, Lt. Chris Pangaldi, Ff. Robert Santello and Ff. Michael Byrd. Engine 22-1’s crew could not begin the cleanup until police finished measuring and photographing the accident scene. As a result, they waited for over a hour, and then, after darkness arrived, they turned on Engine 22-1’s quartz lights to illuminate the scene for the police. At 8:57 p.m., Fire Police Capt. Robert Hazen responded to the scene in his car and Rescue Lt. Andrew Fosina and Ff. Karen Palise responded with Utility 22 to assist police with traffic control on Eggerts Crossing Road at the entrance to Central Park and at Drift Avenue. Finally,
after police completed their investigation, Engine 22-1’s crew
used a booster line to wash the blood from the road. All Lawrence Road
firefighters were clear of the scene and back in quarters by 10 p.m. |